Participating/Observing?
Garrison Keillor, in Lake
Wobegon Days tells the story of the living flag that the citizens of Lake
Wobegon created on Flag Day. One of the members of the community had leftover
hats, in red, white and blue, that he couldn't sell, so he decided to distribute
them to the others, who stood in formation beneath the tallest building in town,
wearing them in such a way that from the proper vantage point (atop the building)
an observer could see a beautiful American flag displayed. The problem was, of
course, that in a small town like Lake Wobegon, all the townspeople were part
of the flag, and if someone wanted to view it, they had to climb the stairs of
the building to get a glimpse. Of course anyone leaving the formation in order
to view the scene left a hole in the flag. Everybody wanted to take a look, but
after getting their glimpse, very few were willing to return to the formation
so that others could also get a look.
Cyberspace is, most certainly, not a small town, but it would still seem to hold
true that if we're all constantly busy writing, nobody is going to have the time
to read (though I'm more often troubled by the opposite
problem).
Go to: Who's going to watch?, or
Go to: How many prosumers can fit on the head of cyberspace?